Re: Class 1 police driving test

The police advanced driving course has its own grading system and is only open to those police officers that have applied and passed initial assessments for the Road Policing Unit. An advanced driver can be either a class 2 or class1 driver the latter of course being the higher grade. Any person responsible for training police officers (staff or officers)must however be a class 1 driver and also have achieved a teaching award in police advanced driving skills (requirements do vary slightly in each individual force).

Re: Class 1 police driving test

I am interested in taking the class1 police driver test.How do i go about training in this?Is this test open to Police officers only or anyone?Thanks in advance

I know that this is an old thread but I'm new to the forum so I thought that I'd just add a little more info about this question.

The tests are only part of the course. To get on a course an officer has to have already passed a police response driving course. This is usually two to four week depending on the force. You do not have to be a traffic officer to take the course. In some forces the majority of officers who take driving courses are not it traffic (or Roads Policing as it is called now). To give you some idea about the course I can tell you about mine, although it was some time ago in the early 1990's.

First there was a written test on the Highway Code, Roadcraft and the force driving rules and regs. This was followed by an eyesight test and then by a test of reversing, manoeuvring and parking a manual car. These were done during the first morning of the course. The first afternoon was taken up by driver assessments to see how a student was driving, bearing in mind they had already had at least one driving course and possibly more if they already motorcyclists. If their standard had badly slipped they could fail the course on their first day. The remainder of the first week was completed in lower powered cars (2 ltrs) and acted as a refresher. The remained for the, in my case, four week course was completed in higher powered cars. The cars always ran in pairs to introduce the students to following another car. There were three students to a car with one instructor. During the course all of the students had to do a test on the skid pan, following an instructor against the clock. We also had to do a day familiarising with larger HGV and PCV vehicle driving. (This was prior to 1997 when licencing laws changed). We used a different car virtually every day, nearly all unmarked, changing between manuals and autos and different makes of cars, Rovers, 24v Senators and a 24v Granada. This was done under the constant pressure of knowing that each Friday we were check tested and could fail at any stage of the course. We were also marked every day and there was an expectation that a student's standard should improve virtually ever day. We were also tested driving under blue lights for a day, introduced to some basic anti-hijack manoeuvres like high speed reversing and had to do a long night drive. At the end of the course we were tested in two ways. We had to simulate a blue light run by driving from A to B as fast as was safely possible and then we had to pursue an instructor for about half an hour. The first test was in an auto, the second in a manual car. As has been mentioned earlier, if they passed the student is then given a police driving classification. Class 1 being higher than class 2. If, as I was, the student was a member of a traffic department there was enormous pressure to get a 1 classification to the extent that a class 2 was seen by some as a fail! There was also an unofficial 'true' or 'pure' class 1 grade. During the course the student was marked in at least 5 different and separate aspects or parts of the course. To gain a 1 classification the students average score had to be above 85% (75% being the course pass mark and a score of between 76 and 84% resulting in a 2 classification, the score of exactly 75 and 85 were never given). However to gain a 'true' class 1 the student had to score more than 86% in each different aspect of the course.

Hopefully the above gives you some idea about the course, it's very specialised nature and the reason it is only available to police officers and a select number of other security and or military personnel.

One thing with still makes me laugh is the number of police drivers who describe themselves as class 1s. There were 24 students on my course and of those, I'm sure there were just 5 class 1s. The large majority of police advanced drivers are not class 1s. It's very easy for someone to say they are a class 1 went there is really no way this can be checked unless someone is 'inside'. It is also noticeable that lots of class 2s describe themselves as 'advanced' rather than say they are class 2s.

Re: Class 1 police driving test

I know of one exception to this as I was on an IAM training day in Nottingham where there was a lady (IAM examiner) who has never been in the police force but took and passed the police traffic advanced course and now teaches police officers to become class 1 drivers

She explained to me that this was a very very rare exception

IAM ObserverLeicester group of advanced motoristsLGV instructor from 2005 to 2008

Re: Class 1 police driving test

If she is an civilian driving instructor then she will probably have taken a very similar course. However, holding a 1 classification means that the holder is authorised to drive certain police vehicles in a certain way OPERATIONALLY. I would like to bet that she was never authorised to drive in a way not related to driver training, after all she was not a police officer. All of the civilian police driving instructors I have ever spoken to and hear of have an 'Instructor' classification, not a 1 classification. Obviously an instructor has to be able to drive at a very high standard, they should always be better than their students so I am not suggesting that the course she took was in any way of a lower standard but I would be very surprised if she claimed to have an authorisation other than 'Instructor'. In order to be an examiner for the IAM the person has to be either a qualified instructor or police advanced driver class 1 or 2. I think RoSPA still requires, but certainly still wants, their examiners to have been class 1s although this is difficult for them to enforce because of the ways police driving schools now grade students (or don't grade them other than just being 'advanced') and because of the different standards of some driving schools. I know of another civilian instructor who applied to become a RoSPA examiner but was refused because he did not have the required qualifications even though he is an advanced instructor .

What has to be remembered is that when a police officer takes the course the pressure they may be under in intense. Some people join the police just to to become, for instance a traffic officer or some other specialist role which requires a 1 classification. They have worked for years towards this one course knowing that if they fail or get a low mark that will possibly be the end of their dream, they could not retake the course to see if they could get a higher mark. I would suggest that this is different to the all be it still high pressure of having to pass the course in order to start a new job. I have not explained this very well but a major part of the advanced course is controlling the pressure the driver is under.

Just out of curiosity, what do people think about someone being able to teach something they have never done themselves? Lots of police forces will not employ anyone to instruct on their advanced courses who has not been a police advanced driver themselves, ie been an operational driver. Some of the, I think, smaller forced do allow this but can you really try to prepare someone to do something you have not done yourself? I would be interested to hear people's views on this.

Re: Class 1 police driving test

My understanding of the law is that, legally at least, a person may drive or train with the same exceptions afforded to a warranted police officer with the permission of a Chief Constable (if their purpose is for police purposes) or The Secretary (for any reason he considers to be justified). Grading for such persons would be the same as any other person attending and acheiving similar assesment level.

Under the authority of those persons (Chief Constable or The Secretary), a non Police Officer may attend a Police Driving Course as though they were a Warranted Police Officer, A person with the appropriate qualifications and training can then lawfully be a Police Trainer, and be awarded the same exceptions and authority as if they were a warrented Police Officer and Driver Trainer.

They may only use such exceptions or powers whilst on official Police business, or activities sanctioned by The Secretary.

My understanding is that a civilian may well acheive a Police Class 1 status, and be a Police Trainer holding a Class 1 and Trainer status.

My understanding is that officially, some Police forces now refer to Class 1 activities as Police Advanced Driver at the higher level, (although many of their officers don't, they still refer to Advanced Class 2 or Class 1).

Re: Class 1 police driving test

If she is an civilian driving instructor then she will probably have taken a very similar course. However, holding a 1 classification means that the holder is authorised to drive certain police vehicles in a certain way OPERATIONALLY. I would like to bet that she was never authorised to drive in a way not related to driver training, after all she was not a police officer. All of the civilian police driving instructors I have ever spoken to and hear of have an 'Instructor' classification, not a 1 classification.

I would say that you are most certainly correct on that - class 1 instructor and not operation but I guess with certain allowances to exceed speed limits for training purposes?

IAM ObserverLeicester group of advanced motoristsLGV instructor from 2005 to 2008

Re: Class 1 police driving test

If the vehicle is being used for police purposes, and this includes driver training, the driver can use certain exemptions. Anyone can go on such a course if they have the approval of the necessary authority. That does not mean that they have the same powers as a police offer, they are just on the same course.

Someone training to be a police driver, or in very rare cases a government approved security services driver, would take a police driver training course and if they pass be awarded a driving classification. Historically there were 5 classifications 1 to 5, 1 being the highest. The aim of the course is to pass and be awarded one of the above driving classifications. Someone training to be a police driving instructor takes a different course, the instructor's course. If they pass they can instruct, if they fail obviously they can't. It's a pass or fail course. You are either an instructor or you are not. I am not suggesting that the instructor's course requires a different or lower standard of driving in any way, in fact you would hope it requires a higher standard, but whatever that standard may be, it is a pass or fail standard and is not graded the same as someone on an advanced course. For police officers their grade determines what they can drive operationally and in what circumstances. I used to work with someone who had been a civilian instructor at the driving school. He then joined the force and eventually joined the traffic dept. Because he had never taken a police advanced driving course (obviously he had taken an instructor's course) he had to go back to the driving school where he had instructed for years on an advanced course which, much to his embarrassment, he only passed with a 2 classification. I should add here that he had not previously instructed on the advanced wing of the school, only on the lower grade courses. Certain jobs such as driving for Special Branch required a 1 classification, as a civilian instructor would never be required to do such jobs there is no point in them holding a grading they would never use. I accept that there have been and probably still are some civilian police drivers such as staff drivers who are not involved in training but who can under certain circumstances use police exemptions, very often these are ex-police officers who have driver operationally. Because a police officer holds the office of Constable and a civilian driver does not, they would not and could not be expected to do the same jobs such as general patrol, pursuits T-pac etc so they are not trained to do so.

Police driver training regularly changes. There used to be just one advanced driving course but at least one force has now broken this up into two courses. The courses are now module based and if a driver from a certain division or department does not require certain modules to be able to do their job efficiently they go on a shorter course. Certain divisions and departments do not require their driver to do the pursuit aspect of the course so there is now an optional 'advanced' course with does not include this. I think some forced do not include pursuit in any of there courses. I'm guessing that if a civilian instructor was not going to teach pursuit driving their instructor's course would not include training them to do this. Why include specialist tactical training when it is not required? Therefore an instructor's course would not include the same as an advanced course which covers all of the required modules? What usually happens is that someone passes their instructor's course and is then used for training lower classification courses to get them used to training at lower speeds and under less stressful circumstances. With time and possibly more training they then sometimes progress up the scale to the advanced driver training courses. I do not know of any driving school which uses civilians who have never been operational police drivers to instruct on tactical courses, although as costs are cut no doubt this may well happen in the future if it is not already.

Re: Class 1 police driving test

I know of one exception to this as I was on an IAM training day in Nottingham where there was a lady (IAM examiner) who has never been in the police force but took and passed the police traffic advanced course and now teaches police officers to become class 1 drivers

She explained to me that this was a very very rare exception

Following a conversation I had yesterday I'm a little confused about this. I was told that the IAM insists on their examiners having been at some stage a police officer / advanced driver. I would be interested to know who the lady you mention is?

Re: Class 1 police driving test

[quote author=(ROG) link=topic=38258.msg300665#msg300665 date=1297067107]I know of one exception to this as I was on an IAM training day in Nottingham where there was a lady (IAM examiner) who has never been in the police force but took and passed the police traffic advanced course and now teaches police officers to become class 1 drivers

She explained to me that this was a very very rare exception

Following a conversation I had yesterday I'm a little confused about this. I was told that the IAM insists on their examiners having been at some stage a police officer / advanced driver.

This is True, we have been told this by our Examiners, and the IAM itself.

Re: Class 1 police driving test

Following a conversation I had yesterday I'm a little confused about this. I was told that the IAM insists on their examiners having been at some stage a police officer / advanced driver. I would be interested to know who the lady you mention is?

There is one exception - Carole Graham from Aylesbury is the lady being referred to

I spent 2 hours in a car with her on the IAM regional training day in Nottingham and I still forgot her name - doh!!

IAM ObserverLeicester group of advanced motoristsLGV instructor from 2005 to 2008

Re: Class 1 police driving test

The lady passed a police Advanced Course. She is therefore qualified to be a RoSPA or IAM Examiner.

I would however question whether she trains to an Advanced level. I would agree with Ratty that passing the instructor course does not generally lead to Advanced Training delivery. There is a massive chasm between Standard/Intermediate Instruction and Advanced Instruction. I would suggest a minimum of 7 years Advanced Driving experience before applying for an Advanced Instructor Course.

Re: Class 1 police driving test

I've just had it confirmed that there are no lady examiners in region 7. Outside of this region I don't know, maybe she said that she was qualified to examine but does not actually do it. I think the lady concerned is an IAM observer and it is not encouraged, or allowed, for an examiner to be this 'close' to a group.

I'm sure that at the moment neither RoSPA nor the IAM have examiners who have not been police officers at some time.

Re: Class 1 police driving test

With the greatest of respect to Diploma holders, I think RoSPA would go to allowing 'just' police advanced or class 2s before they would go to Diploma holders. They are still not allowing civilian police instructors to examine yet so any change will probably be a long way off.

Re: Class 1 police driving test

With the greatest respect to Class 1 or 2, what makes them qualified to examine other peoples driving? have they all done examiners courses? Infact why do you need to be ex police at-all because there are no exemptions used and the system of car control can be implemented and examined by civilians if no exemptions are being used. I know of one examiner who Im good friends with who is ex class 1 and now an examiner, he may have done the course but is he trained to spot faults on a class 1 course?

Re: Class 1 police driving test

Lots of forces have civilian instructors. There is an argument that how can someone train someone else to do something they themselves have not done, but there are arguments about everything. Some forces just use civilians to teach on the lower grade courses but some use them on advanced courses as well. When some officers retire from the driving schools they are sometimes then offered jobs as instructors. I'm sure that with the financial cutbacks now going through there will probably be many more.

Re: Class 1 police driving test

With the greatest respect to Class 1 or 2, what makes them qualified to examine other peoples driving? have they all done examiners courses? Infact why do you need to be ex police at-all because there are no exemptions used and the system of car control can be implemented and examined by civilians if no exemptions are being used. I know of one examiner who Im good friends with who is ex class 1 and now an examiner, he may have done the course but is he trained to spot faults on a class 1 course?

What makes them qualified is that RoSPA says they are qualified. RoSPA (and the IAM and many other organisations) makes the rules for their own organisations. I suspect that it is a good selling point to be examined by a police advanced driver etc. After all, if someone just wanted to be examined by a qualified ADI they can do that any time they want can't they.

As you say, being a good driver does not necessarily make you a good instructor or examiner and the opposite is also true. Some ADIs are not very good drivers. I suspect that the theory goes that at least a police driver has passed their course and also seen some other good drives and has a comparison to go with. The way I look at grading people for their RoSPA tests is that I can recognise a fail, a bronze and a gold standard so anything else is, by default, a silver. (This is why the range of the silver grade is so wide.) IAM basic pass standard is the same as the RoSPA basic silver pass standard. I agree that lots of drivers can recognise different standards of driving but in my experience not even may diploma holders have the depth of knowledge that is given on a police advanced course. I would suggest that it's not enough to know what to do, you also have to know why you do it. If you have experience of driving in the police environment you have more experience than most even if the people you are examining are not being tested in that environment. I also think that in order to examine someone the examiner should be ideally of a higher standard so that they can see how there might be a further improvement. If a diploma holder has to examine another diploma holder what if they are of a similar standard or the person on test is of a higher standard? This could cause credibility issues.